2.  The doctors believe that the treatment may save her life, but it is still unlikely due to the advanced stage of the cancer.  They will be giving her the strongest treatment possible in order to save her, but everyone knows that the treatment is experimental.  Vivian seems as if she is in shock after hearing of her cancer, not fully accepting the horrible truth.  She does, however, believe that she will die.  She goes along with the treatment because there is still a feint sight of hope.  She can also contribute to the “knowledge” of cancer.

3.  The scene with Vivian and her father is meant to show us Vivian’s deep root in education, particularly literature.  We see that Vivian’s father pushed her from a very early age to learn as much as she could.  Even though her father is dead now, Vivian still feels strongly for the things that he taught her.  Language created a bond between the two that has far outlasted death.

4.  Something is ironic if it is completely unexpected, but happens anyways.  I think that it is ironic that many people, who are very sheltered and reserved during high school, go completely wind in college.  You would think that these people would continue their habits, becoming the quiet, studious students.  In many instances, the opposite is true.  I find it ironic that one of Vivian’s poetry students is now a doctor (and has to give her a pelvic exam).  It is also ironic that Vivian is bored and confused by her doctor’s lengthy diagnosis (since she is a very educated woman).

5.  Vivian’s hospital experiences take her out of a very figurative setting, and put her into a very literal one.  She sees that many words lose their figurative meaning in the hospital, where death is so much more than just a word on a page.  She does, however, hide behind her knowledge and her words.  She is being very ironic when she states that “My only defense is the acquisition of vocabulary”.  Her literal defense against the cancer is the chemotherapy, but her figurative defense against the tragedy of death is vocabulary.

6.  Vivian is a very powerful woman in the classroom, making it a point to have one of the hardest classes on campus.  She is on a whole new playing field, however, when Vivian enters the world of medicine, doctors, nurses, and cancer.  Her physical power is taken away from her by the disease, but much of her emotional power remains.  She is taken out of her usual (comfortable) setting, but rests on humor, language, and “wit” to retain as much of her old life as possible.

7.  Vivian no longer has living parents, and her powerful, independent, sarcastic attitude may have pushed all other friends and relatives away.  Despite her intelligence, Vivian’s overall detached way of life repels other people.  It seems as if she always points out the negative aspect of each situation, making many people shy away.  She never seems to even want to connect with anyone until death looms over her.

8.  Vivian has learned the power of death through the words of Donne.  He writes “Death shall be no more; Death thou shalt die!”  The emphasis that Vivian puts on this one phrase (repeating it in her thoughts) shows that she has thought about death and its meaning.  However, it is not until she faces her own death that Vivian sees its real power.  She begins to see death as something concrete, rather than just figurative.  In the end, Vivian’s intense studies do not prove to be useful at all.  She faces the same end as everyone else, facing the same fear as everyone else, despite her intellect.

10.  Even though Professor Ashford stresses the difference between being sentimental and being a scholar, she does not say that scholars cannot be sentimental.  The scholars must be void of sentiment themselves (while writing) in order to analyze the rich Metaphysical poems clearly.  If the scholar is blinded by pure sentiment, the deeper meaning and power of each word and symbol could be lost in a tangle of “feelings”.  Vivian needs to feel and analyze how the powerful emotions are created in Donne’s poetry clearly.  However, Professor Ashford states that the “paper’s not the point” (15).  Rather, she tries to sway Vivian to “use your intelligence” and “enjoy yourself with your friends” (15).  Vivian does not receive this point well.  Distracted by the newly revealed “truth” about the poem, she returns to the library.  Unlike her mentor, Vivian will always have a distinct separation between sentiment and intelligence.  She sees any form of “kindness” as “corny”, and doesn’t have a good balance (69).  Professor Ashford, however, does seem a more “human” person, understanding that there is a time for scholarship, and a time for sentiment.

11.  Jason and Vivian are both very intelligent, preferring “research to humanity” (58).  This is an intelligence that drives their very existence, blocking out many other people, thoughts, and opportunities.  Vivian recognizes the similarities between them, wishing that Jason would “take more interest in personal contact.”  Vivian only realizes this as she comes closer and closer to death, realizing that she regretted not having more “personal contact” during her own life.  She also wishes to connect with Jason herself since they are so similar.  When Jason was her student, he saw that intelligence could earn him respect.  However, he did not see the great sacrifice that he would have to make in order to gain such great respect.  His professional attitude could (to a degree) be formed by hers, reflecting the very intelligent yet isolated attitude that he saw as a student.

12.  Vivian is uncomfortable with the kindness she receives from the hospital staff.  She is accustomed to being a much feared, independent woman.  In the hospital, however, some of Vivian’s confidence is stripped away by her lack of the simplest things such as “shoes” and “eyebrows” (68).  She sees kindness as derogatory, as if she is a child that must be nurtured.  People calling her “sweetheart” and bringing her popsicles was a sign to Vivian that she certainly growing weaker and dying.  Vivian, like all of us, fears her death.

13.  Jason respects Vivian as an intellectual leader at first, but then sees her as pure research as the cancer progresses.  He never really sees their similarities, as Vivian does.  When she first comes in, Jason shows his genuine respect for her by praising her intelligence and success as a professor.  As the cancer takes over, however, Jason uses Vivian as a lab rat, living purely for research.

15.  Vivian would say that she feels so much regret looking back on her time in the classroom.  As death draws near, Vivian reflects on the past, especially her attitude in the past.  She spent her whole life running from kindness, but now regrets it.  As she looks back, she sees that she never made a connection with any of her students on a “human” level.  It is this connection that she now misses.

16.  At first, I saw Susie as just another staff member, doing her job at the hospital.  However, as the play progresses, I see Susie’s nurturing side come out, and I begin to respect her more.  She may not be as “smart” as Vivian or the doctors on paper, but she has a wealth of common sense and other knowledge that cannot be taught in school.  Many people define intelligence based purely on test scores and degrees, but intelligence is much more than that.  Susie’s intelligence has the ability to span just as far, if not further as Vivian’s “book smarts”.  She may succeed in a different way, but it will still be success.

17.  Susie took the same approach to Vivian’s medical care at the beginning of the play, wheeling her around from technician to technician, and diligently charting the “ins” and “outs”.  However, as Susie spends more time with Vivian, watching her die, she begins to feel more and more attached.  Susie reaches out to Vivian, watching out for her best interest by suggesting certain pain treatments to the doctors and explaining her “code” options.  As Vivian reflects on her life, seeing that she never really connected with anyone, she finally beings to let her guard down towards Susie.  Vivian saw Susie in the same way that I did at the beginning of the play, but as the play draws to an end, Susie becomes her final friend.

19.  I do not agree with the doctors withholding information from Vivian, even though they did not withhold all information.  From the beginning, Doctor Kelekian told Vivian that she had a very advanced form of cancer that would require intense experimental treatment.  This should have revealed to Vivian that her chances of survival were slim, even though Doctor Kelekian did not blatantly say so.  The fact that it was done for a good cause does not make it excusable, but gives the doctors, Susie, and even Vivian some peace of mind.  Vivian is not even angry about her treatment.  She knows from the beginning that she will die, but still goes along with the treatment.  She uses the time in the hospital to analyze her life while making an important contribution to cancer research.

21.  The author chooses to have Vivian recite and analyze the sonnet “If poysonous mineralls” because it gives her a chance to demonstrate her true intelligence while also analyzing her own death.  Donne’s sonnet references salvation and “mercy”, both subjects that Vivian must be thinking about as her end nears.  Donne’s “mercy” is referring to God’s grace and forgiveness that is offered to all retentive sinners.  By the same word, Vivian may be prompted to forgive all of her past transgressors, including the doctors who prolong her pain on earth.

23.  I believe that the student’s assessment of Donne’s work is fair.  The student analyzes the sonnet, and Donne’s use of “complexity” to mean something completely different that Vivian, but it is not necessarily wrong.  He provides evidence for his argument, thus making it viable.  His assessment also points out that Vivian hides behind her complex intellect, running from the “big questions” (61).  Vivian fears letting her guard down in order to connect with other people.  Her shield is her intellect, giving her the means by which to stay both busy and hidden.  She thought that “being extremely smart would take care of it”, but was eventually “found out” (70). 

24.  The play is called Wit because Vivian’s entire life is driven by intelligence and her innate ability to identify “wit”. She has a very witty personality herself, always having an intelligent, often sarcastic response to everything.  She can relate to Donne and his poetry through her wit, giving her the means by which to shape her personality.  To me, wit defines a piercing intelligence (such as Vivian’s).  This play could have another title, but they would not be as meaningful to both the play and Vivian’s life.

25.  “Salvation Anxiety” is the fear and nervousness that one feels before death.  Donne suffers from this anxiety as he approaches his own death, as does Vivian.  Even though she does not blatantly reveal her anxiety towards death, her fears grow more and more intense.  She regrets not making more personal connections in the past, but is quickly running out of time to correct her mistake.  The idea of Heaven enters into the play as Vivian steps towards the small light after she dies.  She is guilty of the “overweening intellect” that she previously mentions in her lecture, but only slightly guilty of “overwrought dramatics”.  These dramatics reveal themselves through her teaching and intensely detailed analyses of poetry.

26.  Wit does present the body and soul different.  Vivian is seen as an experiment by the doctors.  Thus, they have stripped her completely of a living, feeling soul.  In Vivian’s eyes, her body and soul are still one, working to evaluate her life during her final days.  To the doctors, however, Vivian’s body is so far gone that it no longer possesses a soul.

28.  When applied to medical research and clinic work, viewing the work as “a puzzle” presents problems by taking all sentiment out of the equation.  Jason and the doctors work to find a very logistical, mathematical, scientific explanation for what causes Vivian’s cancer.  While this benefits the research as a whole, it also separates the body from the soul, transforming Vivian into a lab rat rather than preserving her as the brilliant human being that she is.  When applied to an academic course of study, the desire to solve the “puzzle” provides a decent analytical response, but bleaches out the overall feelings of the work.

• 29. Vivian reverts back to the “hysterical” punctuation in her final words because she finally sees the importance of the emotion in these words. The exclamation point and the end shows the intensity, revealing how Vivian has changed while in the hospital. She finally realizes that kindness and emotion are imperative, and that they trump intellectual excellence. She apologizes to the audience at the end for not realizing this sooner. She feels that she has failed them, and does not have the time to properly correct herself.

30.  The Runaway Bunny is an allegory for the soul because it reveals that God will always find us.  Vivian experiences “Salvation Anxiety”, fearing her inevitable death, but the simple children’s story reveals to her a very complex point.  After hearing the story, Vivian can relax, dying peacefully, knowing that everything will be okay.  The “flights of angels” that sing Vivian to her rest are synonomous with the chorus of angels that will welcome her to paradise.  The playwright selects this book for Professor Ashford to read to Vivian because it reveals to both Vivian and the audience that intellect isn’t everything.  The most complicated ideas can be captured in the simplest ways.  It is the application of these ideas that seriously influences our lives.

Submitted at 3:05 pm

            Despite apparent insult, the speaker never exerts gender equality in this poem.  She points out that “men have precedency and still excel” during this time and that women are “what they are” (38, 37).  She requests acknowledgement and respect for her work while recognizing that “men can do best” (40).  She even offers male poets some incentive for recognizing her work, saying that “this mean and unrefined ore of mine / will make your glistering gold but more to shine” (47-48).  The speaker takes the approach of convincing and inciting the male poets in this part of the poem rather than demanding acceptance.

• 2. Affirmative action is a policy or a program that seeks to redress past discrimination against minorities. These programs were established because, at one point in our society, people were so opposed to equality that their prejudices hindered the advancement of our society. Affirmative action has helped women, African Americans, native Americans, Latinos, and all other minorities across the country. We do not still need affirmative action in the United States because
• i) Affirmative action is creating more and more separation between people in our country, keeping us from being truly equal. For example, if more financial aid is offered to African Americans, native Americans, or Latinos, over time, they will naturally assume (as would anyone else) that they are not required to work as hard or do as much as someone who was born with a different skin color. If this separation were gone, everyone would have an equal chance, and thus, equal standing in our country.
• ii) Much has changed in our society since the 1800s or even the 1960s. Hard working people all over the country are respected for their efforts despite gender or race. Views have changed drastically since the times of segregation and male dominance. We must respect this change, and change our actions accordingly. For example, both a woman and an African American made it very far in our last presidential race. Would this have even happened fifty years ago? It is proof that our country is changing.
• iii) Affirmative action has served its purpose in our country. While there was certainly a need for affirmative action in the past, it is not longer a necessity. In order to EARN respect, the government cannot provide a crutch for anyone. While social classes will always exist (or else our entire society and economy would fall apart), this does not mean that there cannot be equality. Personally, I would prefer it if I could PROVE to an employer, school, or social group that I was worthy and respectable rather than it being handed to me. This would give me a priceless feeling of accomplishment, knowing that all of my hard work had paid off.

            The narrator has a seemingly awkward encounter with Bartleby one Sunday morning.  On this day, the narrator arrives to his office early in the morning before leaving “to hear a celebrated preacher” only to find Bartleby “in his shirt sleeves” (381).  Upon his return (after following instructions to walk around the block two or three times), the narrator discovers more and more of Bartleby’s limited material possessions hidden out of sight around the small office.  Rather than infuriating the narrator for the invasion of space and improper use of his office, the narrator discovers himself pitying Bartleby, and developing a sense of “fraternal melancholy” (382).  They are both “sons of Adam”, providing the narrator with a proper excuse to justify the loving, protective feelings that contributes to his pathos of Bartleby’s situation.

            Through this important discovery, the narrator discovers for himself that he trusts Bartleby completely, thus revealing a tiny fragment of his character.  He has “confidence in his honesty”, feeling completely safe knowing that Bartleby is always the “the first in the morning…and last at night” (380).  He discovers that Bartleby is a humble gentleman, living without “plate, mirror, or bed” for an indefinite period of time (382).  He also concludes from his stark observations that Bartleby must be “friendless”, leading a “horrible” life of “solitude” (382).  The narrator believes this solitude to be worse than “poverty”, even offering for Bartleby to live in his home (382).  However, Bartleby’s refusal reinforces both his humility and his stubbornness.

            While the narrator’s discovery of Bartleby’s makeshift residence reveals more than meets the eye about Bartleby, it also reveals much about the narrator himself.  Why does he feel such pity?  Why does Bartleby’s presence (or lack there of) have so much power over him and his thoughts?  Despite the narrators talent of classifying the people around him, he still has much to learn about himself.

Reginald Scot wrote that witches were real only through the ignorance and imagination of man.  During this time, society as a whole would seek out an explanation or scapegoat for any “adversity, grief, sickness, loss of children, corn, cattle, or liberty happen unto them” (131).  Thus, they created the idea of “witchcraft”.  Scot points out that witches could not have existed since people were not astonished when Christ “by miracle commanded both seas and winds” (133).  Should not have Jesus been feared and burned for witchcraft if he could do such things?  The gift of prophecy is a “gift of God” that cannot exist in our world.  Therefore, the witches of the renaissance were created simply for convenience and ignorance’s sake.  The kind of witchcraft that hundreds of women were either punished or praised for never really existed.

News from Scotland: 

King James recounted the stories of several witches in his letter News from Scotland.  He reaffirms the reader that he is a believer in a God with “omnipotent power”, but also describes several stories of “witches” who were influenced by the devil (138).  He recalls how several women were tortured with “pilliwinks on the fingers” until they confessed that all of their actions were done “by the wicked allurements and enticements of the Devil” and that they were accomplished using “witchcraft” (139).  Due to these confessions, King James suggests that the “King’s Majesty would not hazard himself in the presence of such notorious witches”.

Daemonology: 

King James wrote this dialogue in response to Reginald Scot.  Its goal is to convince unbelievers in the existence of witchcraft.  Through this dialogue he conveys the message that a witch’s goal is to get revenge, gain worldly riches, hurt men, satisfy their cruel minds, or satisfy their greedy desire for men.  He then goes to say that they can attain these things in two different ways: either through their own actions, or through the actions of men that were originally influenced by the witch (like in Macbeth’s case).  However, despite the reason, the actions of each witch occur through Satan.  Thus, witches are considered to be possessed by demons.

In response to Martin Luther, Erasmus composed a defense of free will in which he cites inarguable evidence towards the existence of free will.  He states that “nearly the whole of scripture speaks of nothing but conversion, endeavor and striving to improve” (123).  In order for a conversion or improvement to take place, a free choice must be made.  This is what makes them such an accomplishment both in the eyes of God and in the eyes of the converted.  Our choice to turn towards or away from God is what leads to the gift of eternal salvation.  God continuously presents us with choices, and makes promises “conditionally”.  What would be the point of conditionality if God already knew what we are fated to do?  What would be the point of presenting us with choices if there really was no choice at all?  Passage after passage states that “if” we do one thing, then something specific will happen.  This implies that we have a choice to do or not to do God’s wishes.

            The controversy over free will relates to Macbeth because he is fated to become king, and there is nothing that he can do (no choice that he can make) that will make it un-true.  The three witches informed Macbeth that he will be king, thus he believes that it must be true.  Instead of following his gut instinct to forgo his plan to kill King Duncan, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth jointly decide that the murder is necessary because of fate.  Ultimately, Macbeth had a choice.  He could kill the king and become king himself, or stay strong as a hero of his country, and loyal servant to his king.  Despite what the witch sisters prophesized, Macbeth really did have a choice.  However, it is his and Lady Macbeth’s blind belief in fate that leads them to the unimaginable: the murder of a friend and ruler.  This is what makes the story of Macbeth a true tragedy and catharsis from the reader.

            The poet utilizes a shift in diction and rhythm to denote the change in the speaker’s attitude.  In the first stanza, the poet uses a very simple meter and colloquial diction to demonstrate the monotonous flow of each day.  People would pass on the streets exchanging “polite meaningless words”, completely sure that they “lived where motley is worn”.  However, as the poem moves forward, a “stone” comes to disrupt the monotonous flow of every-day life.  The remaining stanzas, while still rhythmic, lack the simplicity and (for lack of a better word) boringness of the first.  The speaker’s passion lives within the remaining stanzas as new ideas and realizations surface.  Through the poem, the speaker does his part in drawing attention to the significance of the actions of the Irish nationalists.  Through the poem, the speaker can ensure that “wherever green is worn”, a drastic change has come about.  And through the poem, the speaker comes to realize that even small, seemingly insignificant actions can have a great impact on an entire country.  The heroes of the poem birthed a “terrible beauty”, and it is now up to both the speaker and us to make something of that beauty in our own lives.